


Does This Smell Like Chloroform?

by Gunpowder_and_Tea



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Humor, exactly what the doctor ordered, ordered you to stay away from
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:47:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25301827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gunpowder_and_Tea/pseuds/Gunpowder_and_Tea
Summary: A collection of integer-shots drabbles inaccurately portraying realtime events, deranged dreams, and bad science jokes. Starring our favorite heroes Neku the recovering misanthrope, Shiki the one-with-a-brain, Eri the bus puncher, Rhyme the squirrel whisperer, Beat the well-intentioned delinquent. Oh, and Joshua the fabulously uninvited zombie.
Relationships: because that's just who I am as a person - Relationship, except for inevitable one-sided Josh/Neku, mostly platonic - Relationship
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	Does This Smell Like Chloroform?

**Author's Note:**

> I’m hesitant to slap on the one-shot label on these because they’re going to be related to each other on some level, or rather because everyone is a lackluster fool all the time
> 
> aka life and then some 
> 
> disclaimer: Any correlation between characters portrayed in this series and anyone unfortunate to be exposed to the authoress for prolonged periods of time is not intentional. No friendships were harmed in the process of writing these stories (hopefully). Also Square Enix has been accepted as lord and savior of my life in the twewy fandom. 
> 
> Bonus: Most events, ideas, and writing in this are about a decade old. So that goes to show how often I actually sit down and write fic. I even have a standard shameless fanfiction disclaimer from 2010 written in if that says anything. But the TWEWY anime has inspired me to clean out my decrepit dust bunnies from under the bed so we'll see how this goes. You’ve been warned.

This was it.

“Yoshiya Kiryu.”

After all of those special years in the Underground, it had finally come down to this.

“Twenty-second Composer of the Shibuya District, forty-seventh Conductor, and eight hundred and first Reaper; you have been charged with failure to uphold the responsibility of a Composer, conspiring to destroy the sacred mechanisms to the Game as well as your home city, obliterating 157 reapers in the span of twenty-one days, inducing the dreaded Rubber Shoe Incident of 1862-” 

Joshua winced, tuning out the rest of the next ten minutes of misdemeanors and forty-three seconds of third class felonies being announced at volume eleven. Trying his best not to tremble from the force of The Voice, he took a dry gulp and refrained from making eye contact with Sanae, who was a few shadows behind him and perhaps looking even glummer than a week without coffee. Only a single barrier, as thin as a blade, separated the two but even that single layer of invisible static felt like a disjointed universe away.

The two Shibuyans stood solemnly in an immense, white room. It was as if his very own thoughts would echo in the courtroom’s expansive design. This wasn’t the first time Joshua had been beckoned here, oh no, but in time’s past Sanae-the-smooth-talker usually managed to mitigate the irritated Holy Audience into passing off the rebel with a nary warning. But this time, All of those precious memories from his unlife had come back and it was time to reap the price. 

“- and now the time has finally come to announce your fate as consequence to your actions.”

This was it. No more dicking around the Underground, no more pushing Neku off his bed at 2 am, no more trolling around internet forums, no more updating his blog, n-no more midnight definitivo chili dog excursions...

“As your sentence, Kiryu, We the Great Council have come to Our final decision.”

 _Banishment to the Chaotic Realm. Freshmeat for the Demons. Obliteration from existence. Soul Music drainage. Sent back to Composer kindergarten._ Joshua almost visibly shuddered at the last one.

“One year of community service.”

No more - wait. _What?_

“After careful revision and consideration on part of your behavior, We concluded that we could not overlook the insistent support for your well-intentioned, although impulsive actions. Therefore, your punishment will be far more rewarding than other orthodox punishment.” 

Sanae muffled a great sigh of relief, contorting with astonished amusement. Joshua, having trouble remembering that the dead did not need to breathe, was asphyxiating. 

“For the next six months, all Games in Shibuya Underground will be put on hold, and hence you are relieved from Composer duties during this time. It was unanimously agreed that Kiryu be best spending his gratuitous vacation time re-calibrating his moral gears with the presence of others, who are not as well-acquainted with conversing only with gunshots and, ah, power tantrums." The court boomed with a thunderous laughter, mocking furtively _‘oh silly Kiryu, you need to stop living in your job and make some friends that you don’t plan on casually killing.’_ Joshua raised a silver eyebrow at the Fallen behind him, shaking with laughter, clearly having heard the imprinted implications. 

“And Sanae Hanekoma, do not think the Higher Plane will condone you that easily for your crimes.” It was Sanae’s turn to suddenly still, the previous chuckle instantaneously dying on his lips. “Your criminal actions beget far more grave repercussions. We have an equally fitting punishment that will be designed to be most befitting to your reckless operations.” 

The Fallen shifted, his angelic cardiovascular system drumming away what he was sure to be his very last beats in the physical realm.

“Your Producer duties and abilities are now stripped for what is to come." Shoulders sagged in anticipation of what was certainly an overly dramatic and very creative execution borne from immortal boredom in the Higher Plane. "That is, stripped temporarily in place of your new assignment: supervising Yoshiya’s progress as a guardian. Similar to what the humans fondly refer to as,” an audible smirk emerging in The Voice, “a _father_.”

The pair, unknowing how to react at the decision that transpired, eyed each other in absolute bewilderment. The audience, blurred by a flurry of stumbling feathers, shuffled among themselves in confusion between individual horror and hivemind agreement. “Your Hono-”

“That is all, you all are _dismissed_.”

The bang of the mallet colliding with polished marble rang resolutely in two defendants' ears, sounding the beginning of what was going to be a _very_ long year.


End file.
